During the 1960s, the most radical freight car designs employed the extreme height clearances offered by Plate F car designs. In 1964, no car type articulated this extreme more than the 86-foot, purpose-built “Auto Parts” boxcars. These large boxcars became fixtures on the rails all over North American mainlines, riding hot trains to deliver components vital to the productivity of auto plants. While several car builders offered 86’ auto parts boxcars, the most prolific builder of the double plug door design was Greenville Steel Car Company of Greenville PA. More than 4,400 of these cars were acquired by most major railroads, and they were assigned to pools where multiple railroad’s cars served a specific shipper or shippers. Original utilization of these cars was for Ford, Pontiac, and Chrysler, as well as deliveries from 3rd party parts suppliers to the auto plants. Greenville’s 1964-1978 production was the longest run for this car type, with many still in service today.

Tangent Scale Models is pleased to introduce the Greenville 86’ High Cube Double Plug Door Box Car in HO scale! This is not just a single box car model, but instead a system of 86’ High Cube Double Plug Door Box Car models. Tangent is pleased to introduce the industry’s first “high-detail” 86’ auto parts car model!

More about the model in a moment – let’s start with the prototype! Here is an example of a 1965-built Greenville 86’ High Cube Double Plug Door Box Car one year after delivery, in New York Central paint!

The Greenville 1964-1978 production included several distinctive design features to watch for. Most notably, see the drop sill at the bottom of the car which roughly divides the car into fifths when looking at it from left to right. The aluminum doors stand out on the NYC car above because they are unpainted. On some schemes, the doors are indeed painted. Note the large cigar band logo on the right side of the carbody. Also note the end of car cushioning device. Some cars have center of car cushioning.

The first Greenville cars were built in 1964 and featured rooftop running boards (“roofwalks”) which were removed during the year 1965. Here is an example of a former PRR prototype car modified in 1965, with the removal of the roof running board, the lowering of the brakewheel housing and removal of high grab irons and end ladders. If you look closely under the CR paint job, you can see all of these “remnants” on the sides and ends of the model. The roof features the old bolt locations of the running board supports! This Conrail car retains 70T Trucks with Timken roller bearing caps.

With a tremendous amount of surface area to paint on these cars, some railroads elected to paint the cars with significant, complex stenciling. The SP auto parts cars were certainly memorable when it came to stencil lettering. The “SP scarlet red” paint on the carbody was painted even on the aluminum doors, and then SP “lettering gray” was painted in an oval shape on the doors, leaving a huge “SP” in place in scarlet red. As if that weren’t enough, 2 large arrows were painted with SP “lark dark gray” across the carbody sides, pointing at the paired doors. Above the arrows, the words “Hy-Cube” were painted with lettering gray again, and next to that is SOUTHERN PACIFIC in white. The photo below was taken offline in the Reading yard in Hellertown PA and nicely shows the “163” route code and “WHEN EMPTY RETURN TO D&H RR GREEN ISLAND N.Y.”

Another eye-catching scheme was the DT&I Greenville cars, which were originally delivered in light blue or magenta body color paint. The huge DT&I lettering and compass painted on a baby blue carbody screams early 1970s greatness. The “We have the connections” logo is right there, with a return route to BN in Duluth MN! The doors are not painted but left bare aluminum. This car was equipped with ACI label and a WK routing code hand painted on the side of the car. While the stenciling has significant lettering variation, the small details are specific to DT&I specs, including end of car cushioning, gypsum crossover platforms, and Universal brake housing. This DT&I example was found offline at the yard in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1971.

As stated above, Greenville Steel Car built these cars over the 1964-1978 period. One of the later cars is shown here, a 1977-built car painted for Southern Railway. Like SP, DT&I, and many others, this is another one of the truly classic schemes for these “rolling billboard” cars, complete with the “Southern Gives A Green Light To Innovations” logo. Like all 86’ auto parts cars these were pooled cars and ran on designated auto part routes. Here is a shot of a Southern car in the 1980s working across the D&RGW in Colorado between Michigan and the Bay Area, likely on the “Ford FAST” (Ford Auto Service Train)” during one of its stints while operating on the D&RGW (it flipped routings between UP and MP/DRGW every 90 days over its entire lifetime, with the same “flip” happening with different switch dates between SP and WP). This 1977-built Greenville example features body-mounted brake rigging hanging down from the underframe and 100-Ton trucks.

These auto parts cars of course were not only found in the United States. We recognize that Canadian Pacific and Canadian National each had good-sized auto parts car fleets. As an example we are showing a Canadian Pacific example in house road CPAA reporting marks, which were instituted for U.S.-built cars utilized in international service. While CPAA ordered these in a “plain” scheme. These cars have the alternating “wide-narrow” side body panels typical for this 1971-era of Greenville production. With its 1971 livery right from the Greenville paint shop, this scheme includes original “bare aluminum” doors, ACI label, WSP assignment code, and “When empty return to DT&I Railroad Fordhaven Michigan” return stencils.

Click here to go to a link for a CPAA Greenville-painted 1971 delivery auto parts car.

Please keep in mind that these were pooled boxcars which means they showed up in places that were not expected. Take our SP boxcar for instance. The photo above shows it in Hellertown PA, on the Reading. One photo of the DT&I car is in Green Bay WI on Green Bay and Western. The photos of the NYC cars are in California on ATSF and in Dallas on the T&P. The photo of the Southern car is on the DRGW in Colorado. The boxcar schemes were always varied in train consists. And today, when you see a cut of these you usually see a mix of roadnames represented, although the mix is fewer of course due to the shrinkage in railroads! An example here is one of the SP cars on the CN in Ontario, still soldiering on wearing original paint 25 years later!

Speaking of lasting a long time in original paint, here is a NYC car from our current number series offering still working for Conrail in original paint in 1982 on a train headed to Milpitas on a WP train.

Here is an example of a 1969 photo from Buffalo, showing some of the wonderful roadname variety mentioned here, including PRR, L&N, NYC, ATSF, CBQ, NW, CBQ, CNW, and UP, all in one photo!

Our focus today is with the double plug door box cars from Greenville. The “other” 86′ Greenville auto parts cars – the quad door cars (four doors visible on one side) – represented 8% of the overall Greenville Steel Car production and are not the statistically-relevant cars from a prototype production standpoint. We have more body variations in progress, including the quad-door cars for GM and Oldsmobile service (original assignments which changed with time).

Now, for the models! The Tangent Scale Models Greenville 86′ Double Plug Door Box Car system continues the design and operational standards set by previous models in the Tangent product line. Our product builds up to seven major build variations (yes SEVEN, you read that right), including three specific body variations, four different brake layouts (two brake systems), five different draft gear combinations, and three underframe styles which incorporate Center-of-Car Cushioning and End-Of-Car Cushioning options. The Tangent Greenville 86’ box car includes a 70-ton or 100-ton truck option, with selections appropriate for each paint scheme, and both include “spinning” roller bearing caps. Finally, our cars are weighted properly and come with Kadee® couplers mounted in specially-designed coupler pockets which means they operate as good as they look. Due to the car’s size, we recommend curves of 24” or larger for these models.

Our schemes selected mirror a majority of the prototype photos shown above. Our first image shows off the “group of 6” schemes for our first run:

It is with great excitement that we introduce our first NYC-accurate Tangent car. Why? Well even though NYC was a huge railroad with a large freight car fleet, none of our current freight cars were purchased or built by NYC. That changes today, and we emulate Greenville’s greatness in style: NYC Class 962-B jade green freight car goodness including the huge Greenville-applied NYC “cigar band” logo and the “When Empty Return To N&W Railroad, Buffalo, N.Y.” (yes, that is correct, N&W not NYC). NYC was a prolific buyer of Greenville 86’ auto parts box cars, and for our first NYC offering we chose the April 1965 production which is statistically the largest order NYC placed for these beautiful cars. While the stenciling is awesome don’t forget we are also focused on the small details. These cars are available in six road numbers, and don’t forget these lasted well into the Conrail era in original paint.

Conrail quality represents our “repaint” offering for this production. This car comes with the classic Conrail “can opener” to the right in a medium size. On the left side of the car is a “Conrail Quality” logo as well. This former PRR prototype car was modified in 1965, with the removal of the roof running board, the lowering of the brakewheel housing and removal of high grab irons and end ladders. If you look closely under the CR paint job, you can see all of these “remnants” on the sides and ends of the model. Even the roof on the model features the old bolt locations of the running board supports! 70T Trucks with rotating Timken roller bearing caps finish off this CR offering. Our “Conrail Quality 1992+” is available in four separate road numbers.

“Southern Gives A Green Light To Innovations”! This stunningly accurate Southern Railway paint job is an exercise in details: a beautiful carbody freight car brown with the green “dot” inside the O of Southern and the “WSP” Woodhaven Stamping Plant code listing prominently displayed on the carbody. This 1977-built Greenville example features body-mounted brake rigging hanging down from the underframe and 100-Ton trucks with rotating Brenco-6 roller bearing caps, just like the prototype. These beauties are available with four road numbers!

The SP auto parts cars were certainly special when it came to stencil lettering. The “SP scarlet red” paint on the carbody was painted even on the aluminum doors, and then SP “lettering gray” was painted in an oval shape on the doors, leaving a huge “SP” in place in scarlet red. As if that weren’t enough, 2 large arrows were painted with SP “lark dark gray” across the carbody sides, pointing at the paired doors. Above the arrows, the words “Hy-Cube” were painted with lettering gray again, and next to that is SOUTHERN PACIFIC in white. The photo on the Tangent website was taken offline in the Reading yard in Hellertown PA and nicely shows the “163” route code and “WHEN EMPTY RETURN TO D&H RR GREEN ISLAND N.Y.” Our model is complete with scarlet red overspray onto the roof panels. You don’t want to miss these – available in four road numbers.

The 1971 DT&I scheme in the light blue is one scheme we could not resist choosing for our first run, and for good reason. The huge DT&I lettering and compass painted on a baby blue carbody screams early 1970s greatness. The “We have the connections” logo is true, with a return route to BN in Duluth MN! Typical of Greenville builder paint schemes, the doors are not painted but left bare aluminum. This car comes equipped with ACI label and a WK routing code hand painted on the side of the car, like the prototype. While the stenciling has significant lettering variation, the small details are specific to DT&I specs, including end of car cushioning, gypsum crossover platforms, and Universal brake housing. Ah, and look closely: We even have the correct (and all-new) 100-Ton Barber S-2-C “Low Profile” trucks with Timken bearings and truck mounted brake beams. Available in 4 numbers!
We are proud to differentiate between the galvanized roof and the aluminum door colors. These sorts of details matter.

Our CPAA 1971 delivery paint offering represents the first Canadian Pacific car offered in our product line! We recognize that Canadian Pacific and Canadian National each had good-sized auto parts car fleets and we honored that by offering CPAA in our first run. While CPAA ordered these in a “plain” scheme, it is nonetheless an important one. This replica features correct alternating “wide-narrow” side body panels typical for this era of Greenville production. On the underside, check out the end-of-car cushioning and accurate truck-mounted brake system! With its 1971 livery right from the Greenville paint shop, this scheme includes original “bare aluminum” doors, ACI label, WSP assignment code, and “When empty return to DT&I Railroad Fordhaven Michigan” return stencils. These cars come ready-to-operate in 4 numbers.

Below you can see the different underframe variations we have built up to reflect the different underframe, center of car or end of car cushioning, and associated brake system changes.

Click the paint schemes in the grid at right to view more model photos and buy!

The Tangent Greenville 86’ High Cube Double Plug Door Box Car system is a state of the art, dimensionally-accurate scale replica that was tooled to Greenville Steel Car plans and verified with field measurements. Our model comes with highly accurate “true-to-life” colors and “hyper-accurate” lettering including exact stenciling, fonts, and lettering placement. Our Greenville 86’ system of models offers a multitude of detail variations and phases to replicate the many different Greenville Steel Car offerings. A quick synopsis of our era and railroad-specific detail variations include:

• Body shells with or without overlapping side panels
• EOCC (end of car cushioning) or COCC (center of car cushioning) “near scale”draft gear variations with genuine Kadee® scale couplers
• Separate flexible rubber air hoses
• Roofs with running board supports remaining in place (1965+ appearance since the running boards were gone by 1966) and roofs without running board supports (1965+ Greenville production)
• Under car brake system variations
• “See through” etched metal end crossover platforms in three possible options: Gypsum, Apex, or Morton
• Side tack board types/sizes and locations
• Seven prototypically-accurate brake stands (Ajax, Universal, Equipco, Miner 6600, Champion-Peacock, Elcon-National, Peacock 850)
• Two possible handbrake “brake wheel” options
• Optional 3rd door arm hinge parts to be configured one of three ways
• Two brand new truck sideframes: 70-Ton Barber S-2A Roller Bearing Truck or a 100-Ton “Low Profile” Barber S-2-C Roller Bearing Truck (outlined at the end of this press release)
• 33” or 36” wheels, as applicable to each model
• Two brand new truck brake beam part options
• Three brand new “rotating” roller bearing truck cap options
• Recommended age 14 years and older

Finally, check out the TRUCKS on these cars! Our new Greenville 86’ High Cube Double Plug Door Box Car models feature one of two new truck options – either a 70-Ton Barber S-2A Roller Bearing Truck or a 100-Ton “Low Profile” Barber S-2-C Roller Bearing Truck.

Here is the 70-Ton Barber S-2A Roller Bearing Truck:

Here is the 100-Ton “Low Profile” Barber S-2-C Roller Bearing Truck:

These all-new truck options are systems of their own! They include your choice of 3 different “rotating” roller bearing caps and 3 different wheel options. Each truck also has the option of two separate brake beam parts, either for body-mounted brake systems (which are our standard offering), or for truck-mounted brake systems (available as a swap-in part). Our trucks and parts are available separately, and our RTR-cars come equipped with the correct configurations of trucks and parts!

With accurate roadname and era-specific details, genuine Kadee couplers, and all-metal wheels, we provide you with a high-value model that will provide you with years of enjoyment and curb-appeal.